1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Push-To-All (PTA) service system and method facilitating selective data transmission, in which a PTA service user having the floor in a PTA session can select data to be transmitted.
2. Description of the Related Art
A Push-To-All (PTA) service is an Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IPMS)-based service, and includes a Push-To-Talk (PTT) service, a Push-To-Video (PTV) service, a Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP) service, and so on. The PTT service is for transmitting voice data, the PTV service is for transmitting image data, and the MSRP service is for transmitting text messages or binary data.
A PTA terminal intending to get the PTA service first establishes a PTA session with a correspondent PTA terminal, and then can request or release the floor (right to speak) using a Floor Control Protocol (FCP). When granted the floor, the PTA terminal can speak or transmit data. When another PTA terminal is granted the floor, the PTA terminal can hear speech from the other PTA terminal or receive data from the other PTA terminal.
It is a unique feature of the PTA service to support a group service that allows at least three users to participate in one session and simultaneously hear the same conversation or receive the same data. In other words, the PTA service allows one person to have a video conversation with or transmit data to more than one other person at the same time.
There are cases in which a person having the floor would like to transmit to only some session participants or not transmit to certain participants. However, the conventional PTA service cannot accommodate such selective transmission because it is designed so that information, such as voice, image, or data, transmitted by the person having the floor is delivered to all participants in the session.